Another Rethuglican Duhhh-bate

From THE HILL:

Republican Presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) came out swinging against rival GOP contenders Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich on Sunday as she aimed to paint them similar to President Obama on healthcare, cap and trade and the bank bailouts, dubbing them “NewtRomney.”

…snip…

The Minnesota congresswoman slammed former Massachusetts Gov. Romney and former Speaker of the House Gingrich for being “on the same side” of the healthcare issue as Obama a charge she levelled at her opponents during Saturday’s GOP debate.

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The Bland of Pawlenty

From politicalticker at CNN:

Phoenix (CNN) – With no Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich or other potential presidential candidates in attendance, Tim Pawlenty did not have to elbow much for speaking and face time with conservative activists gathered at the American Policy Summit in Phoenix on Saturday.

Amid the thin lineup of potential candidates at the Tea Party Patriots’ three-day event, the friendly crowd was served red meat from the former Minnesota Republican governor – who emerged on stage to a splashy video presentation.

“I’m here today to say, ‘Thank you.’ Thank you for standing up to the ruling class. Thank you for standing up to the liberal power brokers, guardians of the status quo and the royal triangle of greed: big government, big unions and big bailed-out businesses.”

Thank you, because I can’t blow each one of you individually.
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Bennett to Teabaggers: Are Utah-kin’ to me?

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

Sen. Bob Bennett’s (R-UT) political life is on the line tomorrow, with a state Republican convention that has the power to deny him even any chance to fight for the GOP nomination in a primary — and a party base that has been dissatisfied and sees him as being too settled in Washington after three terms.

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Let Us Be Frank. Or Maybe Just Talk Like Him!

From Robert Shrum at THE WEEK (April 15,2010):

Months of death panel promoting, senior citizen deceiving, and abortion mongering have left Republicans immune to facts. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has donned his Frank Luntz mask (maybe McConnell could borrow the pollster’s toupee too), lifting wholesale Luntz’s language designed to mislead the public about financial reform. Playing dummy to Luntz’s ventriloquist, McConnell now shamelessly characterizes the bill that would avert future bailouts on Wall Street as a license for endless bailouts on Wall Street.

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Who should go to jail? Fill in the Blank(fein).

(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its marketing of a subprime mortgage product, igniting a battle between Wall Street’s most powerful bank and the nation’s top securities regulator.

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The United Hates of America

From the Southern Poverty Law Center:

The radical right caught fire last year, as broad-based populist anger at political, demographic and economic changes in America ignited an explosion of new extremist groups and activism across the nation.

Hate groups stayed at record levels — almost 1,000 — despite the total collapse of the second largest neo-Nazi group in America. Furious anti-immigrant vigilante groups soared by nearly 80%, adding some 136 new groups during 2009. And, most remarkably of all, so-called “Patriot” groups — militias and other organizations that see the federal government as part of a plot to impose “one-world government” on liberty-loving Americans — came roaring back after years out of the limelight.

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The Company He Keeps

From THINK PROGRESS:

Major U.S. banks which instigated the financial crisis are set to pay out “record” bonuses and compensation — $145 billion by some estimates. State Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), the Republican candidate running for the special U.S. Senate election next week, announced yesterday that he would oppose the recently announced financial crisis responsibility fee on large banks.

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(l to r:  Richard Gilder, Steve Forbes, Scott Brown, Dick Armey, Rudy Giuliani)

OMG! They Killed Sanity!! You Bastards!

From The New York Times:

CHARLESTON, S.C. — When Senator Lindsey Graham joined forces last month with Senator John Kerry on a compromise to the climate change legislation known as cap and trade, it was the last straw for the Charleston County Republican Party.

The county party, which has traditionally been considered moderate, voted by a wide margin to censure Mr. Graham in harsh terms.

Their grievance list was long: it cited the senator for calling opponents of immigration law change “bigots,” holding the Republican Party “hostage” by participating in bipartisan maneuvers, voting for the Wall Street bailout and tarnishing the ideals of freedom.

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(left to right:  Joe “Kyle” Wilson, Lindseypoo “Kenny” Graham, Jim “Cartman” DeMint, Sparky Marky Mark “Stan” Sanford)